Cougar Tracks

also be sending warning

letters and setting up

referral meetings when

absent days grow to a

large number. We are

also going to have a com-

petition. The first hour

classes in each grade that

have the best attendance

percentage will win a piz-

za and/or Chicken Ex-

press party first nine

weeks. Next semester,

we are looking at the

grade that has the best

attendance percentage

getting a day where they

do not have to wear modi-

fied dress.

I am proud of the hard

work that students, par-

ents, and the staff have

put in to help CMS im-

prove and grow. Thank

you for helping your stu-

dent be successful.

Please encourage your

student, and stress to

them the importance of

coming to school every

day. As always, if you

have any questions or

concerns, please give us a

call. Together we are

going to show that CMS

is the best school around!

Sincerely,

Blake Thomas

Attendance Affects both Students and the School From the Principal ’s Desk

On October 22, the Okla-

homa State Board of Edu-

cation released the 2016

A-F Report Cards for

each school. You can see

the report cards at http://

afreportcards.ok.gov/.

You will see that Central

Middle School has a 67

D+ (in 2015 it was a 69

D+). However, I would

like to explain how our

grade should actually be

a 73 C.

From 2015 to 2016, CMS

actually made growth in

all areas but one. Read-

ing’s Performance Index

went from a 63 to 66.

Math stayed the same at

66. Science improved

from 43 to 50, but Social

Studies went down from

60 to 56. The next sec-

tion is “Overall Student

Growth”. This measures

students’ scores from

2015 to 2016. In Read-

ing, CMS improved from

69 to 75, and Math went

from 72 to 73. The final

category is “Bottom Quar-

tile Student Growth”.

These students had the

lowest test scores in 2015,

and the state looks to see

if they improved in 2016.

In Reading, CMS im-

proved from 37 to 54!

Math increased from 48

to 49.

With all these improve-

ments, you may ask your-

self how CMS went down

to a 67. There are bonus

points given for Attend-

ance Rate (6 points),

Dropout Rate (2 points),

and Advanced Course-

work (2 points). In 2015,

CMS received all 10 bo-

nus points. However, in

2016 CMS’ attendance

rate was 93.2% (94% is

required to get the bonus

points). These 6 addition-

al points would have giv-

en CMS a 73 C.

This is just one of the

reasons why attendance

is so important. The

main reason is we want

to see your student here

every day so that they

can learn and not miss

out on any instruction.

We also look forward to

seeing every student here

so that we can work coop-

eratively, encourage each

other, and hopefully have

a little fun along the way.

We have hired an attend-

ance clerk to call parents

when a student is absent

and no one has called in.

The attendance clerk will

Central Middle School Onl ine Parent & S tudent Newslet ter

Inside this issue:

American Education Week 2

7th Grade Team Spartans

Studious Through Novem-

ber

3

Seventh Grade Gryphons

Experiencing Awesome

Learning Opportunities

3

Title VII Indian Education

Parent Advisory Commit-

tee (PAC)

3

CMS Art Web Page Avail-

able for Viewing

3

Eighth Grade Team Big-

foot Getting ready for

Benchmarks

4

Eighth Grade Team Titans

Focus on Constructing

Essays

4

Sixth Grade Team Knights

of Camelot Improving

Skills

4

6th Grade Team Odin

Busy!

4

CMS Geography Bee/ Title I Engagement

5

2016 A-F School Report

Card

6

CMS News in Brief 6

Reading Plus® Available

to CMS Students 24/7

6

Page 2 Cougar Tracks

AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK!

Nov. 14th -18th

A great time to be at Central Middle Schoo

Parents you are invited to have a middle school experience

in celebration of education during

AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK

Monday, 11/14:

Come check out a Cougar Basketball Game in the gym at 4pm

Tuesday, 11/15:

Have lunch with your student 6th at Noon, 7th at 11:05, 8th at 1:00

Adult school lunch: $3.25, if you plan on purchasing one

Wednesday, 11/16:

Stop by our FCA Meeting from 8:05-8:25am in the gym

Tuesday 11/15 or Friday 11/18

Join us for morning assembly at 8:05-8:25am in the auditorium

7th Grade Team Spartans Studious Through November

Seventh Grade Gryphons Experiencing Awesome

Learning Opportunities

Math - Working dili-

gently on using propor-

tions to graph data so

they can give unit rates.

Language Arts - We

wrote spooky story nar-

ratives for Halloween

and are starting the pre-

writing for our informa-

tional essays this week.

Science - Energy.

Geography – Mock

election Nov 7th. Study-

ing forms of government

and religions during No-

vember.

Reading - Throughout

the month of November

we are working on point

of view, characteriza-

tion, and figurative lan-

guage, as well as contin-

uing our novel study.

The students are cur-

rently on chapter 4 of

The Outsiders, and the

anticipation grows daily.

Page 3 November 2016

Title VII Indian Education

Parent Advisory Committee

(PAC)

Listed below are the meet-

ings scheduled for FY 2016-

2017. These meetings are

held on the second Tues-

day and begin promptly at

6:00 P.M., downstairs at

Shoemaker Center in the

Federal Programs Con-

ference room. Parents are

encouraged to attend.

Date

November 8, 2016 OPEN

Meeting 6:00 P.M., Shoe-

maker Auditorium

CMS art teacher Mr. Chris-

tian invites art-lovers and

the curious to visit his web

page featuring artwork from

students past and present.

Visit the site from time to

time to view new artwork.

CMS Art Web Page

Available for Viewing

will move on to the

city Geo Bee at a

later date.

Mr. Peter’s Math

classes recently

completed their jello

lab experiments to

determine how the

ratio of gelatin to

water affects the

taste, texture and ap-

pearance of jello. We

have been working

steadily on ratios and

proportions with an em-

phasis on finding the

unit ratio.

Ms. Wasson’s Language

Classes will be creating

an informational paper

over the English lan-

guage. Students will

choose their topics from

the following: how words

are added to the diction-

ary, how different ac-

cents are formed, and

how jargon is used.

The Gryphons are

thankful for some

awesome learning

opportunities! Mrs.

Anderson’s Reading

classes will begin

reading and examin-

ing The Outsiders.

We will use the novel

to apply our reading

skills and continue to

work towards showing

mastery of those skills

on our next benchmark

in early December.

Ms. Ford’s Science clas-

ses are working on

structures of atoms, ele-

ments, compounds and

mixtures. Honors clas-

ses will be beginning

their at-home science

experiment project that

utilizes the scientific

method; this project will

be due in December!

Mr. Mithlo’s Geography

classes will be learning

about the different

forms of governments

and looking closely at

the presidential election.

Every student at CMS

will have the opportuni-

ty to participate in our

own mock election on

November 7th, and we

will see how our election

results compare with

the national election on

November 8th.

Fifteen students have

been chosen to represent

the Gryphons in the

school Geo Bee on No-

vember 4th; the winner

Eighth Grade Team Titans Focus on Constructing Essays

Sixth Grade Team Odin Improving Skills

table. They also estab-

lished Gizmo accounts so

the learning can continue

at home. Use the link https://

www.explorelearning.com

to perform computer gener-

ated experiments at

home. In November, stu-

dents will be balancing

chemical equations, creat-

ing compounds, solutions,

and mixtures.

In Reading, we continue to

work on prefixes, roots,

and suffixes to improve our

vocabulary. This week, we

are working on author’s

perspective, purpose, and

point of view. Students are

doing an excellent job of

completing Reading Plus

lessons. This program

helps students better com-

prehend what they are

reading, improves fluency,

and increases vocabu-

lary. Keep up the great

work, students.

It is hard to believe that

the first 3 months of school

have flown by! In the last

month our students have

been continuing to work on

their skills that supple-

ment writing. As we begin

November our new focus

will primarily focus on con-

structing argumentative

essays that include counter

-arguments.

In math, we have been

learning to solve equations,

and we recently started

combining like terms with

those equations. Next, we

will be heading into dis-

tributive property and mul-

ti-step equation. Ask your

students to show you the

do and undo method to

solving equations! We will

take our second benchmark

the end of this month\

beginning of next month so

make sure your kids are at

school and on time so they

are properly prepared.

In US History students are

learning about the creation

of our Federal Govern-

ment. We are preparing

our future citizens for the

election process with a

school wide election Nov

7th. The results will be read

during our Election Day

Cougar Call. Be prepared

to discuss with your chil-

dren topics such as voter

ID laws, political parties,

Oklahoma state questions,

and the Presidential Elec-

tion.

In October students start-

ed learning about atoms,

chemistry, and the periodic

sions and Transitioning into

a more in depth look at

Thermal Energy.

In Pre-Algebra, Mrs. Pen-

nington’s students have been

working on integers and will

continue to work towards

improving their math skills.

Please remember that stu-

dents cannot practice their

math facts enough!

Mrs. Morlett’s

English clas-

ses are wrap-

ping up infor-

mational writ-

ing on what

we are experts at and mov-

ing onto writing opinion

pieces.

Mr. Anderson’s Social Stud-

ies classes are exploring the

upcoming presidential elec-

tion and the state questions.

In Reading, Ms. Ricci’s stu-

dents are learning about all

of the literary elements: plot,

setting, characterization,

theme, and conflict.

Mrs. Ervin’s Science class,

wrapped up Potential and

Kinetic Energy. We will be

working on Energy Conver-

Page 4 November 2016

week. We are proud of the

combined efforts of our

students and parents.

In Language Arts we are

learning how to create an

argument and back it up

with evidence. Students

are also practicing in writ-

ing and getting ready for

the Benchmark at the end

of the month.

Team Bigfoot is working

hard on reading plus and

test taking skills.

In math we are beginning

Equations.

In US History we are fin-

ishing up Jacksonian De-

mocracy and will begin

Westward Expansion and

Industrialization next

Eighth Grade Team Bigfoot Getting ready for Benchmarks

6th Grade Team Odin

Team Odin has

been busy!

In Ms. Smith’s

English clas-

ses, we have

been learning

how to avoid

the trap of pla-

giarism by fine

-tuning our

paraphrasing skills. We will

soon be utilizing those new

skills as we begin our informa-

tional writing projects.

In Math class, we are working

on plotting coordinates on a

grid. Next, we will begin work-

ing on unit rate and ratio prob-

lems then multiplying and

dividing fractions.

Ms. Miller’s class just finished

a unit on figurative language.

Today we will begin a unit on

mythology and literary ele-

ments. Remember to complete

2 Reading Plus lessons at

home each week if possible. If

not, I’m here every morning at

7:00. Please have your child

here no later than 7:20 so we

have enough time to complete

a full lesson. I’m also availa-

ble for 8th hour Monday, Tues-

day, and Thursday. Students

must have a ride and be picked

up by 4:00.

Scientists in the 6th grade have

been working on identifying

the different types of energy

available in the world and how

to convert between them. This

is leading up to a project and

in depth look at alternative

energy solutions; a theme ef-

fecting the majority of people

on this planet.

Mrs. Pool’s class is learning

about the United States elec-

tion process. We are introduc-

ing both presidential candi-

dates and participating in a

school wide election

Page 5 Cougar Tracks

Wednesday, November 30th at 5:30pm

in the CMS Auditorium

CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL

WILL HOSTS ITS

ANNUAL

GEOGRAPHY BEE/

Title l Parent Engagement

Topic: How to Monitor Your Child ’s Progress at School

assessments, tools to

monitor student progress,

ongoing implementation

support, and supple-

mental offline activi-

ties.

All CMS students

have a Reading

Plus® account and

are able to login any-

where they have in-

ternet access, includ-

ing on a mobile

phone or tablet. If

your student does not

know his or her login in

information contact their

reading teacher.

2016 A-F School Report Card Parents are encouraged to access the Lawton Public Schools Website

and view our 2016 School A-F Report Cards. The Lawton School Re-

port Cards are available at the following website address: http://

afreportcards.ok.gov/

If you do not have internet access at your home, you may request a

copy of the school report card at the principal’s office.

Reading Plus® Available to CMS Students 24/7

duration of reading activi-

ties so that students pro-

ceed at a pace that corre-

sponds to their reading

skill level. The interven-

tion includes differentiat-

ed reading activities,

computer-based reading

Reading Plus® is a web-

based reading interven-

tion that uses technology

to provide individu-

alized scaffolder

silent reading prac-

tice for students in

grades 3 and high-

er.

Reading Plus®

aims to develop and

improve students’

silent reading flu-

ency, comprehen-

sion, and vocabulary.

Reading Plus® is de-

signed to adjust the diffi-

culty of the content and

Central Middle School

Phone: 580. 355. 8544

Fax: 580. 585. 6452

E-mail: bthomas@lawtonps.org

1201 N.W. Fort Sill Blvd.

Lawton, Oklahoma 73507

Teachers Teach ... Students Learn ...

It's Our Future

We ’r e o n F a ce b oo k

Facebook.com/

law toncentralms

CMS News in Brief

the Fallen 5K on Ft

Sill and the Turkey

Trot in Novem-

ber. Raising money

for Haiti hurricane

relief.

Military Child Club

– Coffee and Conver-

sation for teachers

that are veterans on

Nov 10th. Sponsoring

and running BINGO

at the VA Retirement

Home on Nov 12th

Library News—Plan

now to attend this

year’s Scholastic Book

Fair: December 5 –

13. All Reading Clas-

ses will be scheduled

in to browse and

shop. PLUS, this year

there are TWO Parent

nights. Both Dec 6

and 13 will be open in

the evenings for par-

ents to attend the

Book Fair while also

enjoying their stu-

dents perform during

Vocal Music and Band

Holiday Performances.

Running Club – in-

creasing miles before

beginning ½ marathon

training. Participat-

ing in the Remember

CMS Clothes Closet Available

CMS would like to send out a

huge thanks to parents and fac-

ulty for your generous donations

to our school’s clothes closet.

We have so many CMS students

who visit the closet for a variety

of reasons; from warm coats and

clothes to school supplies or

hygiene products. We would not

be able to take care of so many

students without the donations

from our community. We are

accepting school uniforms for

boys and girls of all sizes.

CMS is currently in special need

of feminine hygiene products for

girls, as well as deodorant and

other toiletry accessories for

both boys and girls.

Thank you again!